Mary Queen of Scots: the origins of Jedburgh's once celebrated pear-production

INFLUENCED by his Anglo-Norman uncle Henry I of England, David I of Scotland (1082–1153) was largely responsible for the ‘Normanisation’ of Scotland. Determined to secure religious and cultural change, he incentivised Augustinian canons from the northern French city of Beauvais – then a Norman possession and an important spiritual hub – to establish an Order in Jedburgh.

A 9th-century church on the sheltered banks of the Jed Water was upgraded to priory status. The monks, who were obliged to be as self-sufficient as possible when it came to food production, were also granted a substantial tract of land adjoining their place of worship. A motte and bailey fortress erected on Jedburgh’s highest point was intended as a defence against lowland Scottish clans vehemently opposed to Anglo-Norman influence.

Aware that the Jed valley’s climate and growing conditions were not dissimilar to those they were familiar with in Beauvais, the canons brought with them to Scotland not only seeds but also apple, pear, plum, damson and medlar saplings. The convent yards of the monastery were established on five flat acres of deep, rich alluvial soil. The Augustinians maintained the fruit garden for over 400 years despite a gradual decline in their number.

To ensure the continuation of the original pear tree stock planted in the convent yards adjacent to Jedburgh Abbey, a number of trees were grafted and grown on before being planted in the gardens of Queen Mary’s house.

The Augustinians were not the only religious Order to settle in Jedburgh; 15th-century Franciscans also established a friary and an orchard on the northern outskirts of the town. Pioneers of agricultural improvement, monks were often the first to implement innovations intended to increase the productivity of the land. Communication with others of their inclination residing in nearby border townships encouraged the dissemination of expertise.

Dessert pear varieties were grown alongside more ‘inferior’ varieties that were either used for perry production or – at a time when potatoes and swedes were unknown – kept as a winter food resource. We are told, for example, that even after months in storage the aptly named Worry-Carle pear only became edible after boiling. Named for its weight, the Pound Pear was a poor pear used for baking.

READ MORE: Timbers of Champagne

Archibald, 4th Earl of Douglas, displayed his displeasure with regard to Anglo-Norman control in the Scottish Borders by taking a troop of 10,000 men to what is now northern France to support the French against the Anglo-Normans at the Battle of Verneuil. He was killed, but the future French king, Charles II, awarded his son the title Comte de Longueville (Count of Longueville) after it was lost to the Normans. A pear brought from the territory by the count may well have developed its particular characteristics only after its arrival in Scotland in the 1400s; the Grey Longueville has not been known in France for many centuries.

Left: 12th-century French monks were the first to establish orchards in the Scottish Border town of Jedburgh. The trees they planted were varieties brought from northern France. Some dessert pears were grown but varieties that stored well were of major importance as a basic winter foodstuff.

In 1822 the Jedburgh-based horticulturist Thomas Shortreed wrote: “The convent yards were at one time a very fine orchard, planted chiefly with pears. I have no doubt that a few of the existing trees are at least 500 or 600 years old. Only two old trees of the largest and most delicious pear, the Grey Longueville, remain. One of these still produces extremely fine fruit that is superior in size and flavour … It has lost its top in a late storm of wind and is much injured. The specific gravity of the wood of the Longueville, which is greater than that of most other pears, added to the slender form of its branches and its heavy fruit, make this tree more susceptible to the wind; the pears can be shaken off when they are almost ripe. Grown upon a wall, this pear would attain to the highest perfection; it would be safe from danger from the wind too.”

Following the death of James I of Scotland (1394–1437), the 5th Earl of Douglas, in his capacity of Warden of Scotland, took up the reins of power on behalf of the underage James II. It has been suggested that the Warden pear could have derived its name from this act. However, taken from the Anglo-Norman word “warder” meaning ‘to keep’, it refers to the fact that the pear required cooking before it became edible. The Grey Warden pear was coarse fleshed but in the lean months of the year it served as the filling for a sometimes saffron-enhanced ‘Warden Pie’.

Informative panels placed in the grounds of Mary Queen of Scots’ house explain the history of Jedburgh’s once thriving pear industry. The pear trees planted to enhance the visitor experience include one which commemorates the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953.

Although Warden is thought to have formed part of the diet for Roman troops on the march, cultivation of the tree was first recorded in the 1200s by Cistercian monks residing at the Abbey of Warden, Bedfordshire.

Warden was a large tree that could grow to a huge size. Of the few such trees remaining in the convent yards at Jedburgh in the early 1800s, a White Warden specimen with a girth of over 8 ft was said to be “the admiration of the town”.

The term ‘Jethard Pears’ referred to the range of pear varieties grown in Jedburgh by the 1700s. The costermonger’s cry “buy Jethard Pears” was a familiar one in markets as far apart as Newcastle-upon-Tyne and London. The trade thrived for well over a century.

Jedburgh folklore maintains that in the orchard adjacent to Queen Mary’s house there once stood several White Warden specimens said by tradition to have sprouted from the branches of a large tree downed by a storm on the night Mary’s son (James VI of Scotland/James I of England 1566–1625) crossed the border to take possession of his English dominions. Left to lie on its side buried in the earth, each of the fallen tree’s branches is believed to have grown into a separate tree.

Over time Jedburgh’s residents realised the wealth potential of the town’s fertile ground and steep embankments. By the 1700s every spare plot of land was reported to have been planted up with largely pear orchards. The renowned botanist Dr John Walker was moved to write: “There is more fruit trees about Jedburgh, and more fruit-bearing wood upon the trees, than I have seen in any other part of Scotland.”

The wood of the pear tree has been valued for centuries by the makers of woodwind instruments because it does not tend to warp. When oiled, pear wood develops a rich milk-chocolate hue. Resistant to splintering and absorbing colour, it is also used in the production of kitchen utensils.

Jedburgh’s pear trade proved highly profitable for many years. Such was the demand for ‘Jethart Pears’ that they were transported across the border to markets as far afield as London. The White Warden in particular was considered to be a reliable variety that produced bumper yields when other varieties failed. In the late 1700s one carrier is said to have “… kept five horses constantly employed for one season in carrying to Newcastle-upon-Tyne pears of the White Warden, the produce of one orchard, and that not the largest in the town”.

In the days before potatoes and root crops were grown, the range of pear varieties planted in Jedburgh’s many orchards included not only dessert varieties but also pears that could be stored to provide winter sustenance. When stewed or baked the so-called inferior varieties became palatable.

The name ‘Jethart’ denotes an area, not a pear variety. Thomas Shortreed’s list of over twenty pear varieties grown in the locality included many which were French in origin. Bon Chrétien (Good Christian) relates to Francis of Paola, an Italian healer whom Louis XI summoned to his deathbed in 1483. The friar is believed to have given the king a pear seed from his Neopolitan homeland which was subsequently planted and nurtured. The summer pear became known as Williams’ Bon Chrétien after it was popularised by a late 18th-century nursery-man of that name. Excluding the Far East, the variety is reportedly the most commonly grown pear elsewhere in the world.

READ MORE: Stavkirker: masterpieces in wood

Jargonelle is one of the oldest pear varieties. Brown-skinned and aromatic, it is thought to have originated in the former French area of Anjou in the 1400s. The tree’s hardiness, longevity and cropping reliability caused it to be planted throughout northern Britain. Sir Walter Scott referred to the pear in his novel Rob Roy, and in her romance North and South Elizabeth Gaskell wrote: “… she craves fruit, she has a constant fever on her; but jargonelle pears will do as well as anything and there are quantities of them in the market.”

The bark of the pear tree is grey/brown in colour and fragmented into small squarish shapes. Canker can manifest as a ring-shaped lesion in the bark close to a pruned branch. Extreme environmental conditions can also cause problems such as bark splitting. Blue tits have been known to peck holes in the fruit which can be subsequently entered by wasps and other insects.

Shortreed noted that the Buchanan autumn-ripening pear had been a common choice amongst Jedburgh’s growers despite the fact that it did not store well: “… but of all the pear tribe here the tree seems to thrive the kindliest and grows freely, without a gall, rising to a great height in a short time; and is never known to canker. The young pears when just formed after blossoming are not apt to be affected by late frosts which hurt other sorts and to which we are a good deal subject in Jedburgh.”

Prompted by the loss of the White Achan, a first-rate, large and beautiful pear, cream coloured with a pale blue flush on one side, the flesh of which was said to “melt like honey in the mouth”, Thomas Shortreed sought to justify the non-propagation of it and other varieties. “Until these last few years when horticulture has come more into repute, and a stimulus to improvement has been created by the establishment of societies devoted to encouraging the cultivation of fruit, there was little inducement for the few gardeners in Jedburgh and its surrounds to bestow much pains upon the culture of trees …”

The fact that pear trees tend to be long-lived has led some cultures to associate the trees with immortality. Nevertheless, to secure the future of many heritage varieties the French authorities have established several conservation orchards.

The fortunes of the small Scottish Borders town began to decline in the early 1900s. Forty acres of orchards gradually disappeared due to competition from large-scale fruit-growing enterprises elsewhere in Britain. Even so, Jedburgh’s heyday has not been forgotten. The town’s Orchard Development Group was established a decade ago to promote and commemorate the pear trees that once put the community on the map. The voluntary group not only assists current orchard owners, it also oversees the Crailing Community Orchard where heritage varieties of pears, apples and plums are grown.

The French too have taken measures to ensure the retention of their important fruit-growing heritage. The Office National des Forêts has established a 2-ha Verger Conservatoire de Varietes Fruitieres in the grounds of the ruined Abbey of Vauclair, Aisne.

Forestry Journal remains dedicated to bringing you all the latest news and views from across our industry, plus up-to-date information on the impacts of COVID-19.

Please support us by subscribing to our print edition, delivered direct to your door, from as little at £69 for 1 year – or consider a digital subscription from just £1 for 3 months.

To arrange, follow this link: https://www.forestryjournal.co.uk/subscribe/

Thanks – and stay safe.